New Study: Using AI for Direct Answers Reduces Performance and Persistence
A new study from researchers at Carnegie Mellon, Oxford, MIT, and UCLA found that using AI to directly solve problems for just 10 minutes can reduce subsequent performance and persistence when the AI is taken away. Participants who used AI for complete answers performed worse than both the control group and those who only asked for hints or clarifications. The research suggests the issue isn't AI itself, but "cognitive outsourcing" — handing off thinking entirely instead of using it as a supportive tool. This effect appeared across both math and reading comprehension tasks.